Casa Mia Services

Accessory Dwelling Units

ADU Builders in Central Florida

An accessory dwelling unit is a second, self-contained home on your property — its own entrance, its own bathroom and kitchen, often its own HVAC, electrical and plumbing. Homeowners across Central Florida build them to house family, to earn rental income, or both. Casa Mia Services builds them as a licensed Certified Building Contractor (CBC1255916), which means we handle the structural work, the permitting and the inspections, not just the finishes. The first question is always whether your parcel allows one — and that answer is different in Orlando than it is in Winter Park. We find out for you before you spend anything.

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Pinerock ADU in Orlando, a detached accessory dwelling unit built by Casa Mia Services

Does Florida allow ADUs?

There is no statewide right to build an ADU in Florida. A bill that would have created one — Senate Bill 48 — passed the Florida Senate 38–0 in February 2026 but died in the House on 13 March 2026. The housing bill that did become law that session (HB 1389, Chapter 2026-179, effective 1 July 2026) deals with affordable housing development and contains no ADU provisions.

What that means in practice: whether you can build an ADU, how big it can be, and whether you can rent it out are decided mainly by the city or county ordinance that governs your specific parcel. Those rules vary a great deal across Central Florida — sometimes between two addresses a few miles apart. Confirming them for your property is the first thing we do.

What the rules look like where we build

A few examples of how different this gets:

Orlando

The City of Orlando permits accessory dwelling units in all residential districts, as well as its mixed residential-office and low- and medium-intensity office districts. Size is capped at 500 or 1,000 square feet depending on your lot and district. An ADU of 500 square feet or less needs no additional parking; above that, one extra space is required. The unit has to sit to the side or rear of the main house — not in front — and short-term rentals under 30 days are restricted. Our Pinerock ADU was built here.

Winter Park

Winter Park is more restrictive than most people expect, and it's worth knowing before you plan. Its code provides for accessory living quarters in the single-family districts, but as written those quarters contain no cooking facilities and cannot be rented out as an independent unit. In other words, a guest suite or in-law space is achievable; a fully independent rental ADU generally is not. There is one narrow exception worth knowing: on properties with a home of 5,000 square feet or more, the code does allow a second kitchen in a dwelling or cabana — but only without a separate utility meter, only with a recorded deed restriction, and explicitly not to be rented out. If you own in Winter Park, talk to us early — there is usually still a good option, it just isn't the one you read about online.

Unincorporated Orange County

If your address is Orlando but your parcel sits in unincorporated Orange County, you permit through the county rather than the city — and the two have different rules. The county requires construction plans prepared by a Florida-licensed professional engineer or registered architect, submitted through its online permitting system, with a final inspection before the permit closes. Zoning limits on size and use are set separately and depend on your district, so we confirm those for your parcel before design starts.

Seminole County cities

Sanford, Lake Mary, Longwood, Altamonte Springs, Winter Springs, Casselberry and Oviedo each run their own building division, and each sets its own rules for accessory units. There is no single Seminole County answer. We check the ordinance that applies to your address and tell you what's possible before you commit to a design.

What a Casa Mia ADU includes

Zoning and feasibility check

We confirm what your parcel allows before you spend money on design.

Detached or attached construction

Ground-up detached units, garage conversions, and additions built as in-law suites.

Its own systems

Independent HVAC, electrical with a dedicated sub-panel, and plumbing, so the unit works without touching the main house.

Permits and inspections

We pull the permit with the correct authority and manage inspections through to sign-off.

Full interior finish

Kitchen, bathroom, flooring and finishes to the same standard as the main home.

One point of accountability

Owner-managed from first walkthrough to final inspection.

A finished Central Florida ADU

Our Pinerock project in Orlando is a fully independent studio with its own bathroom, built so the homeowner could rent it out and help offset their mortgage. It's a detached structure — CMU block with a shed roof — running entirely on its own HVAC, electrical and plumbing, with a dedicated electrical sub-panel for straightforward service, and its own sewage pump tied into the main home's system. That's what a properly built ADU looks like: not a converted shed, a permitted second home.

See the Pinerock ADU

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick answers to what homeowners ask us most.

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Licensed Building Contractor · CBC1255916

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